The Most Profitable Final Fantasy of All-Time Is…

Final Fantasy XI is getting old. It came to Japanese PCs and PlayStation 2s way back in 2002, to North American PCs and PS2s in 2003 and 2004 respectively, and to Xbox 360 in all regions in 2006. But if a translated report from Andriasang (via Famitsu) is any indication, Final Fantasy XI has been very kind to Square Enix financially over the last decade.

Square Enix’s CEO Yoichi Wada told an audience at VanaFest 2012 (which celebrates Final Fantasy’s MMO foray) that “looking at profitability [for Square Enix], [Final Fantasy XI is at] the top of all past Final Fantasy games.” That’s not exactly hard to believe, considering he qualified that statement by talking about how overall playtime since the game launched exceeds 200,000 total years.

News of Final Fantasy XI’s profitability comes as its presumed successor, Final Fantasy XIV, continues to struggle. Final Fantasy XIV received a mediocre score upon release, which forced the game to be free-to-play until subscription fees were announced last December. In an attempt to get ex-players to return and try it again, Square Enix introduced a welcome back program for Final Fantasy XIV, and revealed at E3 that the game is still being readied for release on PlayStation 3.

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.